Clothes-pounder.



HENRY ALLERS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLOTHES-P DUNDEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed August 20, 1913. Serial No. 785,716.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY ALLnRs, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Founders, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in clothes pounders and has particular reference to that type of such devices which is designed to be manually operated and employed in urging the clothes to and fro in the suds or rinse water.

The principal object of the present invention aims to simplify the construction of devices of this character to produce an implement which may be cheaply manufactured, will be durable and efficient in its action and is composed of a minimum number of parts so that the liability of breakage and necessity of repair are fully guarded against.

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to construct a clothes pounder consisting of a handle, an outer conical shell member detachably secured to the terminal thereof, and an inner conical shell member carried by the outer shell member, forming the inner member with a fora" inous closure wall but leaving the outer casing open at the bottom so that as the clothes are urged up and down in the water the outer casing will upon upward movement produce a partial vacuum with the result that the dirty water and suds will be drawn through the foraminous bottom closure wall and will circulate through the inner shell back into the outer casing.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application.

With reference to the drawings wherein there has been illustrated the preferred embodiment of this invention as it is reduced to practice and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts: Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, illustrating particularly the internal arrangement of the parts of the suction cup of a pounder. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view. Fig. 1 is a vertical section illustrating in detail one modification to which the upper terminal of the inner shell may be subjected.

Proceeding now to the description of the drawings, the numerals 10 and 11 designate respectively and as entireties the handle and suction cup elements of this invention. The handle member 10 is an ordinary wooden or metallic staif of any desired thickness and length it being only necessary that this staff be of sutlicient size to withstand any strains to which it may be subjected during the manipulation of the pounder.

The suction cup illustrated most clearly in Fig. 2 includes an outer shell member and an inner shell member designated respectively by the numerals 12 and 13. The outer shell member 12 is in the preferred embodii ent a substantially conical metallic shell the apex portion of which is formed in the nature of a cylindrical sleeve indicated at 14. This sleeve member is designed to receive the lower terminal of the staff or handle 10 which is limited in its downward movement therethrough by a means to be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

The open and enlarged mouth of the outer shell 12 is arranged remote from the lower terminal of the member 10 and is bent upon itself to form an inwardly directed annular flange 15 which is disposed flat against the inner face of the member 12 and terminates at its upper edge flush with the lower edge of the peripheral bead 16 formed in the member 12 adjacent the lower portion thereof. A somewhat similar bead or returned edge 17 is formed on the lower edge of the shell 12 and is designed to brace the shell imparting to it the desired amount of rigidity so that it may withstand the strain to which it is subjected during its application to the clothes. The particular necessity of the annular head 16 will be hereinafter more fully explained. An annular series of circumferential spaced apertures or orifices 18 is formed in the member 12 adjacent its lower terminal so that during the manipulation of the pounder the waste water may flow out of the inner shell.

Passing now to the description of the inner shell member 13 it will be noted that this element is somewhat similar to the member 12, being formed in the nature of a substantially conical metallic casing, the upper end of which terminates in a tubular sleeve 19 which is in assembled position disposed interiorly of the lower portion of the sleeve 14 and is soldered or otherwise secured therein. The member 13 is formed with a number of apertures 20 at its upper terminal so that the water entering through the foraminous bottom closure plate 21 may exit into the outer shell 12. Relative to this member 21 it has been found desirable in the preferred embodiment, to employ a metallic plate formed with a plurality of apertures 22. It is obvious, however, that if so desired, heavy wire gauze or screening may be substituted for the plate 21 without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention which resides in the provision of a foraminous or apertured closure member for the lower end of the member 13. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the plate 21 is formed with an'upstanding annular rim or flange 23 which is soldered or secured in any other desired and suitable manner to the lower edge of the shell 13 and is engaged against the outer face thereof. 7

In order to insure adequate engagement between the clothes pounder and the clothes and to protect to as large an extent as possible laces and similar fabrics of fine and delicate nature, there has been provided a protecting ring 2% which is annular in shape and is formed from a strip of metal bent upon itself transversely to produce a double fold, the two elements of which are respectively indicated at :25 and 26. The fold 25 is longer than the fold 26 and is equipped with a rolled periphery indicated at 27. This rolled periphery or bead 27 is inserted in the stamped out bead 16 of the member 12 and acts to hold the member 24 in the desired assembled position.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4: the upper terminal of the sleeve 19 carried by the inner shell 13 has been forlned with a peripheral inwardly directed bead 28 which limits the downward movement of the staff or handle 10 and has been found to greatly improve the device inasmuch as the strain exerted by the handle 10 is equally distributed between the two sleeves instead of be ing brought to bear upon only one of them as in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2.

In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is the most el'licient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of my device will necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a substantially conical outer shell, a substantially conical inner shell, said outer shell. having an annular circumferential spaced series of apertures formed adjacent its lower terminal, said inner shell being provided with an annular series of circumferential spaced apertures adjacent its upper terminal, a perforate closure for the lower end of the inner shell and a ring removably secured to the inner face of the outer shell adjacent the lower terminal thereof.

2. In a device of the character described, a conical outer shell, a conical inner shell, a tubular sleeve formed at the upper terminal of the outer shell, a tubular sleeve formed at the upper terminal of the inner shell and engageable in the first-mentioned sleeve, an inwardly directed peripheral bead formed on the second-mentioned sleeve, and a handle inserted in the first-mentioned sleeve and limited in its inward movement by the body of the second-mentioned sleeve.

3. In a device of the character described, a substantially conical outer shell, a substantially conical inner shell, both of said shells having a plurality of apertures, a perforate closure for the lower end of the inner shell, an annular channel formed in the inner face of the outer shell adjacent its lower edge, and a ring member having an annular bead formed at its upper terminal, said ring member being insertible in the channel whereby the ring may be removably secured interiorly of the outer shell.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY ALLERS. [Ls] Witnesses EDGAR D. PAGE, BEDA M. SATTERLEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

